Adjustable stair



Jan. 13, 1959 E. F. xANTEN 2,367,855.

ADJUSTABLE sTAIR Filed Feb. 1e, 195s y ill- 11 30 fen/ar di@ sf..

, ing down into the basement.

Unite 2,867,855 ADrUsrAnLE STAIR .-Elmer Xanten, -iiocltford, Ill.,assigner to Adjustable Stair `a Mfg. Co., rRockford, Ill., a corporationof Illinois Application February 16,y y1953:, Serial N o. v33.7 ,180 2Claims. (Cl. 'Z0-.10)

'This invention relatesV to an adjustable stair, and particularly to anadjustable stair adapted for initial installation as a basement .stairbefore the basement floor is poured and while the construction proceedson'the rest the next. step after completing the basement walls is tolaythe .joists for the rst oor on top of the basement walls, after whichthe sub-flooring for the first floor 4is laid over these joists. A stairwell is providedy in the; first 4floor` sub-flooring to permit accessinto .the basement. However, a. permanent basement stairway normally is,not .put in until after the concrete basement floorhas `been ,pouredandduring this time it is commonpracticato provide a ladder vor temporary,makeshift stairwaylead- Frequent accidents 4result toworkrnen going upand down this `ladderonternporary stairway vwith tools and materials asthe construction proceeds on the house.

These diiculties are avoided by the present invention which provides astairway of apermanent and safe -nature adapted to be installed as soonas the first floor j oists and sub-flooring are put in. Thisstairwaypermits safe access into and from-the basement during thefurther vconstruction of thehouse.v When it comes time for pouring theconcrete basement-floor, the stairway maybe ad- 'justed out of the,wayso as not to interfere with the laying of the basement door, withoutdisassembling the v4 stairway from its permanent mounting. After lthebasement oor isnished the stairway is again adjusted to bring its lowerend to rest on the basementgoor, the

v stairway Vthereafter servingas vthe permanent basement stair.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention v to provide anadjustable basement stair of novelconstrucafnovel adjustable stairhaving provision for adjustment -to different heights and pitches.

Anotherobject of this invention is to provide a novel vadjustable lstairhaving provision for attachment to the v oor joists of the higher floorin a manner permitting ready, adjustment of the .height andangularinclination of the stair.

A further-object of thisinvention is toprovide` a novel adjustable stairhaving provision for adjustment of vits treads toglevel positionirrespectiveof the pitch-and-run `of thefstair.

.Afstil-furtber.object of thisinvention is to :provideav `Patenterl Jan.13, 1959 ICE ywith the-lower llicor-for -any pitch-and-run of the stair.

i Other and further objects-and advantages of the pres- `ent inventionwill be-appa'rent from 'the following descrip- 1 tion of apreferred-embodiment thereof, which is shown in the accompanying drawingUtoillustrate the principles of operation oftheA invention. In thedrawing:

Figure v1 is a frontelevatiompartly 'broken away, of 'l the adjustablefooting at the bottom of.thestair;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary end view showing [Figure 5 isanen'dview, showing the, stainlin itsy temporary'4 position before thebasement oor ,has been poured;

. of the stringers toward-and away from the basement door, iand-footings` 16, `17 carried adjustably-at the lower` ends vof thestringersfor engagementwith -thebasement floor.

Figure 6 lis a `View similarto Fig. 5 showingthe-stair in its retractedpositionwhile thebasement oor isybeing 25f poured; and

Figure 7 is a'view similarto Fig. 5, showingtheznal,

permanent position of.thes tairaft er the basement oor ;hasbeenpoured.

in general, the stainassembly `ofthe present inventionincludesa.spacedfpair,.ofzstringers 11 and l2 (Fig. l1) forming thesides ofthe Astairs, a plurality of treads 13 extending. .between thestringers-y and supportedV th erel yr a pairof brackets. =1 4,- .15ladapted to be supported. by the oor joists and supporting theYstringers at their ,upper ends in a. manner permitting Alimited angularadjustment Referring to- Figs. 1 and 4 in particulanthebracketj `is inthe form of alight-angled. plate having arear ieg d8 which issecured-flush against Vthe oor-joistl9-by means of screws` Ztl. Bracket15fhas an integrallegz21 which projectsy directly outward from the floorjoist. yAdjacent its upp e'r` end this leg is `formed with,` a bolthole' 22 for receiving a bolt 23 whichextends through a Asimilar-hole vinthe Stringer 12` adjacentzthel latters upper end to `mount theStringer pivotally on the 'bracketf A nut .24 is threadedonto-the boltto maintain the parts in'this relation. :Adjacent its lower endV thebracket leg' 21 receives a bolt 25 which extendsthroughan elongatedslotn26 formed in, the stringerf12. A nut 27 is releasablyf threadedonto the inner end oftb'olt 25 and when' loosenedy permits thestringerxlZ to .be `adjusted angularly about'the upper coursethe-slot-26 maybe made arcuate, if desired. The

- il on-its support bracket ll4fis-identicaltothat just described andhence will not be discussed in detail. Both the .stringers`andtheirmounting brackets are preferably of steel. 'Eachof' thestringers is channel shaped-in cross- ,section, exceptr atithe forwardedge at its llower end, 'presenting the outwardly extendingk upper andlower/flanges lla and lfb, and 12a andy 12b, respectively.- This Ichannel shaped configuration`impartsfmaximumptrengtb 'and rigidity: tothe lstringers.

At-its lower endure-Stringer lzcarries atooting '17 formed with anelongated slot 33 through ,which exv tends loosely a bolt v3:4, therboltpassing snugly through ahole in the upstandingleg of footing 17 andthreadedly receiving a nut at its inner end. The arrangement of the bolt34 and the slotp33 in-Stringer 12 enables the footing 17 to be adjustedangularly relative to the Stringer to compensate for different pitchesof the Stringer during succesive stages inthe use of the stair or fordifferent stair heights, so as to maintain the floor-engaging leg 29 ofthe footing 17 in level engagement with the floor no matter what thepitch of the stair. The slot 33'may be made straight, as shown, providedthe bolt .34 has a loose enough t therein to permit this angularadjustment to be effected.

`The* footing 16 is similarly mounted in angularly adjustable fashion onthe lower end of the other Stringer 11.

Each ofthe wood treads 13, which are arranged in step fashion'from topto bottom along the stringers, is mounted on thestringers for limitedangular adjustment relative to the stringers in order to maintain thetreads horizontal for any pitch of the stringers. Referring to Figs. 1and 4, at each of its ends each tread 13 s bolted to the upper,horizontal leg 36 of a right-angled bracket 35 having its depending sideleg 37 bolted to the inner 1 side of the adjacent Stringer. A bolt 38extends snugly through aligned holes in the Stringer and the side leg 37of tread bracket 35 and threadedly receives a nut 39 at'its inner end toclamp these parts in place. Another bolt 40 extends snugly through asimilar hole formed in the depending side leg 37 of the tread bracket 35adjacent its rear end and loosely through an elongated slot 41 in theStringer. At its inner end a nut 42 is threaded onto the inner end ofbolt 40. With this arrangement, by loosening the nuts 39 and 42 eachtread bracket 35 and the corresponding tread 13 may be adjustedangularly relative to the stringers to level the treads at any pitch ofthe stringers, after which the nuts 39 and 42 are tightened to lock thetreads in this position.

In the use of this stair in a house or other building, normally thejoists 19 and the sub-flooring for the rst oor are installed after thefoundation 42 has been poured. In order to enable the workmen to haveconvenient and before the basement iloor ispoured, the brackets 14 and15 are attached to the iloor joists, as described, and the assembly ofthe stringers 11 and 12, treads 13, and footings 16 and 17 are bolted tothese brackets. At this time,

altwo-by-four or other wood block 44 (Fig. 5) of the approximatethickness of the basement floor to be poured isinserted beneath thefootings 16 and 17 to support the t lower end of the stair. The footings16 and 17 are adjusted to position their lower legs horizontal. and thetread brackets 35 are likewise adjusted angularly relative to thestringers to maintain the treads 13 horizontal.

' Thus, there is provided a stable stairway during this stage of thelconstruction, thereby avoiding the danger and inconvenience connectedwith the use of make-shift ladders atj this time.

lWhen the time comes to pour the basement oor, the lower end of thestair may be lifted up out of the way, as shown in Fig. 6. This isaccomplished by adjusting the stringers 11 and 12 of the stair angularlyabout the brackets 14 and 15 at their upper ends, which are attached tothe first floor joists.

After the completion of the basement floor, the lower end of the stairmay again be lowered (Fig. 7) to position its footings 16 and 17 inengagement with the oor 45. Any` necessary final angular adjustment ofthe footopposite sides of the stair. These hand rails are sup-V portedat their lower ends by posts 48, which rest at their lower ends on thebottom step and which are each attached by a threaded bolt 46 and acooperating nut 47 to the inner faces of the stringers 11 and 12,respectively.

From the foregoing it will be Seen that I have provided a basementstairway adapted for permanent installation as soon as the rst oorjoists and sub-flooring are' in and which does not interfere with thelater pouring of the basement floor. Following the completion of thebasement oor, the novel stairway described above then Serves as apermanent basement stair. All of the necessary adjustments of this stairinvolve no more than simple bolt and nut arrangements.

While in the foregoing description and in the accompanying drawing therehas been disclosed a specific preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, it is to be understood that various modifications, omissionsand renements which depart from the illustrated form of the inventionmay be adopted without departing from the Spirit and scope of thepresent invention. Furthermore, while the particular use of the stairofthe present 1nvention as a basement stairway has been discussed indetail above, it is to be understood that this stair is adapted forother and different uses where an adjustable stair ,having thecharacteristics of the present invention is desired.

I claim:

1. An adjustable stair adapted to be installed in a basement stair wellof a building` prior to installation of the basement oor and adjustableto accommodate different oor-to-floor spacing comprising a pair ofspaced downwardly inclined Stringer members, a pair of Stringer membersupports pivotally attached to the upper ends of said Stringermembers-and adapted for attachment in the stair well to permit elevatingand lowering of said Stringer members, means for selectively clampingthe Stringer members to said supports to lock the Stringer members in apreselected adjusted position, a pair `of angle iron foot platespivotally attached to the lower ends of said Stringer members forlimited angular adjustment relative thereto to level the lower face ofthe foot plates for engagement with the Hoor, means for selectivelyclamping said foot plates to said Stringer members, a plurality ofelongated angle iron tread mounting members, said tread mounting membershaving a pair of longitudinally spaced holes in one leg adjacentopposite endsV thereof, said Stringer members having a first row ofspaced holes adjacent the upper edge thereof and a second row of spacedholes adjacent the lower edge vthereof and each substantiallyhorizontally aligned with one of the holes in the first row, a first setof bolts each extending through the hole adjacent the forward end of oneof the bracket members and through one of said holes in said rst row inthe Stringer members, a second setof bolts each extending through thehole, adjacent the rear end of one of the bracket members and throughone of the holes in the second row of holes in said Stringer members,the holes in one of the members through which said second set of boltsextends being vertically elongated to permit angular -adjustment of thebracket members relative to the Stringer members about the rst set ofbolts, nuts on each of said bolts for clamping the bracket members tothe Stringer members in the adjusted position thereof, and treadsmounted on said tread mounting brackets and extending between saidStringer members.

2. An adjustable Stair adapted to be installed in a basement stair wellof a building prior to installation'of the iioor-to-oor spacingcomprising a pair of spaced downwardly inclined stringer members, a pairof stringer member supports pivotally attached to the upper ends of saidstringer members and adapted for attachment in the stair well to permitelevating and lowering of said stringer members, means for selectivelyclamping the Stringer members to said supports to lock the Stringermembers in a preselected adjusted position, a pair of angle iron footplates pivotally attached to the lower ends of said Stringer members forlimited angular adjustment relative thereto to level the lower face ofthe foot plates for engagement with the iloor, means for selectivelyclamping said foot plates to said Stringer members, a plurality ofelongated angle iron tread mounting members, said tread mounting membershaving a pair of longitudinally spaced holes in one leg adjacentopposite ends thereof, said Stringer members having a rst row of spacedholes adjacent the upper edge thereof and a second row of spaced holesadjacent the lower edge thereof and each substantially horizontallyaligned with one of the holes in the rst row, a first set of bolts eachextending through the hole adjacent the forward end of one of thebracket members and through one of said holes in said rst row in theStringer members,

a second set of bolts each extending through the hole adjacent the rearend of one of the bracket members and through one of the holes in thesecond row of holes in said Stringer members, the second row of holes insaid Stringer members being vertically elongated to permit angularadjustmentof the bracket members relative to the Stringer members aboutthe first set of bolts, nuts on each of said bolts for clamping thebracket members to the Stringer members in the adjusted positionthereof, and treads mounted on said tread mounting brackets andextending between said stringer members.

References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS298,212 Knight May 6, 1884 597,966 Emery Jan. 25, 1898 954,893 SimpsonApr. l2, 1910 1,787,167 Purdy Dec. 30, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 478,000Germany Oct. 8, 1951 807,022 Germany a Oct. 8, 1951

